Jardine preps for the future

Scoop Jardine plays basketball. That’s what he does. That’s what he was doing last week, in the King of Kings men’s league along with former Syracuse University teammates Josh Wright and Demetris Nichols.Playing ball, getting ready for his final season with the Orange, and looking forward to wh...

Scoop Jardine plays basketball. That’s what he does. That’s what he was doing last week, playing basketball in the King of Kings men’s league, along with former Syracuse University teammates Josh Wright and Demetris Nichols.

Playing ball, getting ready for his final season with the Orange, and looking forward to what he hopes will be a professional career.

Jardine made his first appearance for 99 Problems last Wednesday after making stops all over all over the map, including at LeBron James’ Skills Camp.

“Run, play, excitement,” Jardine said in explaining why he made the short trip from Syracuse. “Get some competition and work on what I do.”

The combination of Jardine, Wright and Nichols was pretty potent – Jardine scored 29 points and had seven assists, Nichols scored 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Wright had 16 points – but 99 Problems lost to fast and hot-shooting City Rocks of Albany, 97-93, in an entertaining, back-and-forth game at Notre Dame High School.

Doneilous King, one of the founders of King of Kings, was more than happy to have Jardine make his season debut.

“It raises the level of competition, and what it does for

these players – it’s hard for them to find a good competitive game, with a whistle (referees),” he said. “They get that here. And for the community, to get players like these to come and play, and see them for free, it’s great. Especially for the kids. They get pictures and autographs.”

Jardine redshirted his sophomore season, graduated last May, and is considering pursuing an additional major while playing his final season. He’s had a busy summer, and it could get busier. He recently returned from James’ invitation-only camp after spending time at Chris Paul’s and Deron Williams’ camps.

“You’re playing against the best players in the country,” he said. “We were getting it on, and I played well.”

The wide-shouldered Jardine, 6-feet-2 and usually about 190 pounds, looks lean and muscular. He wants to be in prime shape for tryouts for the USA Men’s Basketball World University Games, which begin July 29 in Colorado Springs. SU coach Jim Boeheim is the committee chairman.

“If I make the team, I’ll go to China for a month,” he said. “It’s like a brotherood, representing your country. It’s a big deal. God willing, I’ll make that team.”

Jardine is an amiable personality and probably was the most frequently quoted Orange player last season, but he also was a lighting rod for some disgruntled fans who regard his style as more high-risk than they’d like.

“If you play at the highest level, you take the good with the bad,” he said. “It’s a game I love, and I work hard. No one can take my hard work away. Anything anybody else says, it goes in one ear and out the other.”

Page 2 of 2 - SU lost a very important element from last year’s team – Rick Jackson averaged 13.1 points and 10.3 rebounds and blocked 86 shots – but leading scorer Kris Joseph is back along with everyone else. Jardine feels the team can get deeper into the NCAA tournament if team chemistry is there.

“We have to bring it every day,” he said. “Stay together. The guys coming back. The new guys. We have a great coach. It’s our team. It’s about team chemistry. Everybody knows what they have to do. We’re going to do it.”